Sunday, 5 January 2014

Decoding Historical Clothing - Using patterned fabric to decipher the cut of a dress.

This article
was initially inspired by studying the image of a particular dress which has been on my 'to do' list for a long time. The distinct striped fabric helped me to work out how I could make a reproduction.

Dress Comtesse of Palfi, Chateau Malmaison

Many of us
who study and recreate historical clothing rely on the images provided by online collections and databases as we are unable to visit the collection in person. However, if you look carefully at an image of a historical garment made from a striped or patterned fabric it can provide a lot of information and interesting clues about the cut as opposed
to a garment made from a plain fabric.

Whilst my
ideas may seem obvious to some I hope they will provide some useful tips for those
studying historic fashion.

The cut of
the 'Palfi' dress has always interested me. You can see how the stripes on the bodice
match exactly those of the skirt. The direction of the silk on the sleeves is
also interesting and shows a nice decorative contrast. The pleated detail on the
bodice is very effective but has it been made from one piece pleated up or from strips
made to imitate pleating? When you look at the proportion of the spacing on the
fabric pattern perhaps using a continuous piece would be too bulky? Considering
factors like these can perhaps help us to make more informed choices when we
attempt a reproduction.

The
interruption of the striped pattern can reveal details of the cut when online photographs
are not very clear. Zooming in on this example from the Kyoto collection shows
a small inserted piece which would aid the drape of the skirt. It is a small detail but from experience very effective when making a dress like this.

Screen shot, Kyoto Fashion Museum website.

The back panel of the 1814 dress is cut on the cross grain of
the fabric but this is unusual for the period. Was it decorative? To help the fit? Or was this the only piece left over after the rest of the dress
was cut?

V&A Collection c.1814

c.1827, LACMA Collection

The 1827 LACMA collection dress is interesting because the pattern is not exactly matched on
the centre front of the bodice even though this would have been quite noticeable. Was this due to lack of
fabric? But on the other hand there are false tucks on the skirt made with fabric cut on the
cross grain. This would have used up a large piece of fabric.

Studying the two striped
dress bodices of the 1840s show the decorative use of fabric and a practical one too. Cutting the fabric on the cross grain in narrow sections helped the bodice fit tightly over the corset by adding stretch. The bold lines created by the stripes at this angle add a clever design detail and the waist appears thinner.

Bodice detail. Metropolitan Museum Collection.

Kent State University Museum.

Striped
sleeves can be very useful when looking for clues about the pattern. You can
determine the angle of the bend of the sleeve from the direction of the stripes. The Metropolitan Museum collections online has a high quality zoom in tool to help look at these details.

Bustle Dress Metropolitan Museum Collection

Sleeve Detail from the zoom in tool.

Walking Dress by Worth, Metropolitan Museum Collection.

The placement of the striped fabric on the Worth dress is clearly highly decorative rather
than functional. The seam in the centre front panel of the skirt and the position of the
grain are very different to conventional patterns of the period. You can also see the striped pattern frames
the edge of the bodice. The stripes give you a clear idea of the
cut of the garment but the choice of the placement of the fabric is not
necessarily based on the rules of pattern cutting on the correct grain.

This brief study did present more questions. Judging the difference between the decorative placing of patterned fabric, the necessity of using limited fabric to its best use and how this influences the cut of a historical garment.

There are also technical factors to take into account such as the width of fabric when the garment was made. Fabrics such as silk and velvet were very narrow before the early 1900s. Some as narrow as 18 inches wide. This would have had more of an impact with patterned fabrics as they would have been less easy to pattern match and piece together.

Victoria and Albert Museum Collection.

One final
detail which can be indicated by looking at patterned historical garments and
even embroidered ones is remodelling and alteration. Most museums and collectors
will indicate this in the item record but it is a good idea to bear this in mind if you
plan to purchase an original garment as it can affect the value.
Alterations could have been made close to when the garment was first
constructed as fashion changed. The garment could also have been re-cut to fit another person as a hand- me- down. It is
always useful to look at the embroidery pattern and see if it finishes abruptly
or is not symmetrical.

I would like
to make a suggestion for museums to add a close-up image of the fabric with a tape measure or ruler to show the scale of the patterned fabric. I believe this would really
help anyone who does not have the opportunity to see the historical garment in
person to gain a better understanding of its cut and construction.

Thanks to
Abby and Janea from Colonial Williamsburg for their advice on 18th
century cutting. I would also like to thank Caroline, Simon, Taylor, Irene, Angela,
Karen, Jane, Nicole and Lorna for their insights on my Facebook page.

2 comments:

Wow, what beautiful dresses, the fabrics are lovely! And what an interesting idea! I am definitely not up to that level of sewing at all, but it is so interesting to know this sort of thing! Thank you for sharing it!

About Me

I’ve been a costumier and researcher for 13 years and have worked for many organisations such as the BBC, The National Trust, Shakespeare’s Globe and English Heritage. My specialist area is recreating historical clothing and uniforms. I have spent a lot of time studying original examples of clothing and taking patterns from these garments. My interest is creating historical clothes from these patterns and replicating the techniques of the period. I have a small collection of vintage clothes, jewellery and accessories which I put on display when I am invited to give talks. I often wear my own creations and attend historical events.
In addition to making historical clothing I work as a part time tour guide and also a background artiste. Even though most of my work involves visiting the past, my favourite film genre is science fiction!